John Comyn, Earl of Buchan

John Comyn, Earl of Buchan (1260-1308) was a Scottish nobleman who was the cousin of John Comyn and a rival of Robert Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

Biography
John Comyn was born in Buchan, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1260, the son of Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, the nephew of John Comyn, and a cousin of John Balliol. In 1289, John succeeded his father as Earl of Buchan, and he became Constable of Scotland under his uncle King John in 1293. He led a failed attack on the English city of Carlisle at the start of the Wars of Scottish Independence in 1296, and he was captured at the Battle of Dunbar and imprisoned south of the River Trent. In July 1297, he was released home by King Edward I of England and sent to bring Moray under English control, although he tacitly allowed for the Scots of Moray to join forces with William Wallace at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. In 1298, at the Battle of Falkirk, the Comyns abandoned Wallace and joined the English ranks, leading to the defeat of Wallace's uprising. From 1300 to 1304, Buchan fought against the English in Galloway and the borderlands, launching raids in the River Clyde valley. Ultimately, the Comyns submitted to King Edward I in 1304, and, after the murder of "Red" John Comyn by Robert Bruce in 1306, Buchan and the Comyn-Balliol clan sided with the English in their campaign to crush Bruce's rebellion. From 1307 to 1308, Bruce campaigned against Buchan, defeating his army at the Battle of Inverurie and harrying the region to destroy Comyn power in northeastern Scotland forever. Buchan was forced to flee to England, and he became Warden of the West Marches in June 1308. He died just a few months later.